Chimbote Foundation
Mission Milestone Investment

The Chimbote Center for Social Works (Centro de Obras Sociales or COS) began a dramatic expansion and upgrade in the fall of 2015 when the Chimbote Foundation Board unveiled a three-year strategic plan called the Mission Milestone Investment (MMI). Replacing the small, 50-year-old outpatient clinic, which also housed the pharmacy and pathology lab, was the centerpiece of the Mission Milestone Investment.

We are thrilled to report that after years of planning, fundraising and construction, the new clinic is open! It is a beautiful, comfortable and efficient facility that has the capacity to help more patients than ever before. The Foundation board members extend a heartfelt “thank you” to each and every MMI donor for their extraordinary commitment to the poor in Chimbote to make this dream a reality!

The new two-story building, with its white trim gleaming in the sun, rises above the nearby buildings and symbolizes a beacon of hope for the many impoverished residents of this desert city. It is a place they can receive compassionate medical care regardless of their ability to pay for services.

Expanding to Meet the Need

The new facility increases patient capacity by five times over the original building. There are now ten clinical suites — up from four — allowing for modernized and expanded services, such as cardiology, ophthalmology, pediatrics, gerontology, audiology and neurology. (Read more about the clinic.)

The formal blessing of the new clinic took place on Sunday, February 18, and was led by Chimbote Bishop Ángel Francisco Simón Piorno. Approximately 600 people came out to celebrate this wonderful new resource for the people of Chimbote, a gift from their sisters and brothers of the Pittsburgh Diocese.

In addition to funding construction of the new clinic, the Mission Milestone Initiative also will enable COS to:

• increase by 60% the life-saving Home Visit Program which serves those too destitute or feeble to travel to the clinic;
• purchase and protect valuable mission-sensitive equipment from the harsh desert and ocean environment that surrounds Chimbote; and
• provide increased services for abandoned, abused and orphaned children who are placed at the Padre Julio Children’s Center and Shelter.

You Can Help Us Reach Our MMI Goal!

The Mission Milestone Investment is separate and distinct from the mission’s regular operating subsidy, but both are important to the success of the COS. The $240,000 annual subsidy is what keeps the doors open. It pays salaries and benefits to 140 local Peruvian physicians, nurses and staff, while also covering costs for medicine, electricity, water, etc. We are so fortunate that the people of the Pittsburgh Diocese help to fund this subsidy through the annual mission dinner, the golf outing, school and CCD donations, and individual gifts.

The MMI is an extra $1 million pledged over three years to invest in the modernization and expansion of the mission outreach — to fund important projects beyond the scope of the annual subsidy. The MMI has almost reached its goal of $1 million — we are just $35,000 short of fully funding this campaign. Although the new clinic is open, your support is still urgently needed to fulfill the promise we made to purchase equipment, expand home visits and continue to care for the children at the Padre Julio Center. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift today to help us reach our vitally important target.  Muchas Gracias!

March 2018 Update

We are excited to share recent pictures of the dedication and opening of the new clinic. Your generous donations have made this momentous expansion of critical medical services possible — thank you for making this dream a reality for the poor of Chimbote!